Miss Indiana USA and State Health Commissioner Jerome Adams, MD, have teamed up to tackle Sun Safety Awareness Month this year! Check out this dynamic duo discussing the pageant winner’s experiences as a skin cancer survivor and how to protect the skin you’re in.

Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the U.S., more skin cancer cases are diagnosed each year than all other cancers combined. The number of skin cancer cases has been going up over the past few decades, the American Cancer Society reports.

In Indiana, from 2011–2015, there were 1,248 new cases of melanoma diagnosed, and 209 melanoma-related deaths on average per year. The number of basal cell and squamous cell skin cancers is difficult to estimate because these cases are not required to be reported to the Indiana State Cancer Registry, according to the Indiana Cancer Facts and Figures 2015 report.

Skin cancer can be prevented by practicing sun safety, and eliminating any exposure to tanning beds and sun lamps. To learn more about skin cancer, please refer to the Indiana Cancer Facts and Figures 2015 report, a comprehensive report on the burden of cancer in Indiana.